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The author Mark Twain, noticing his own obituary in an 1897 newspaper, famously wired to the editor, “The report of my death was an exaggeration”, and went on to live for another 13 fairly productive years. The anxious glances by professionals considering an MBA or Executive MBA (EMBA) are similarly exaggerated. Despite the gloomy front-page stories a mere 12 months ago, the economic downturn will not be the death of MBA recruitment or business school applications.
In fact, the opposite is true - the MBA culture is countercyclical. This means that many professionals who have lost their jobs and received a payoff, or perhaps are simply feeling insecure in their positions, are sensibly viewing the downturn as the perfect time for business school. They rightly feel they can ace the MBA and hit the ground running when the upturn happens.
Nunzio Quacquarelli, Managing Director of the QS World MBA Tour, which visits Johannesburg in March, says: “We feel we have the best place to start researching those business school options, meeting the world’s most influential admissions officers face to face.”
For Quacquarelli, the spike in interest and applications to business school is happening for a number of reasons. “Some young professionals are choosing to try and sit out the downturn in business school while for others it’s a more calculated decision. Either way, during tough economic times, getting an education will put you in a fantastic place to get ahead into a strong management position during the upswing.”
Although now may be the perfect time to embark on an MBA, how do prospective candidates go about choosing the right business school and the right MBA program for them? One good strategy is to adopt the following five steps in making a decision. These steps encourage candidates to take their time, assess their own personal strengths and objectives, and do their research to ensure they make the right choice.
Step 1: Career goals and feasibility
Try to narrow down the types of career you might like to pursue. Understanding what employers want and where opportunities will be plentiful should figure in your thinking. Are you geographically mobile? Do you have a strong first degree and two or more years of successful work experience? Do you have a vision of how you can progress in your current industry or function, or are you just hoping an MBA will help you to do something new without any real plan (risky in current markets)? Talk to HR managers at target companies to gain their input.
Step 2: Self-assessment
Why do you want to take an MBA? A realistic self-assessment of your abilities and skills base will help you to make a more focused selection of schools. Analyse your motivations. Do not take an MBA just because you have recently graduated and cannot find a job. Most applicants opt for an MBA to improve career prospects, learn new skills and create a personal network. Other motivators are bringing about a career change, increasing salary and starting a business. If you have lost your job in the downturn, you may choose an MBA to ride out the economic storm. But for most, it is a more strategic decision. Perhaps you see that in a year or two a recovering economy is going to need more business leaders of your profile, and an MBA will equip you to take advantage.
Step 3: Study mode
The full-time MBA is still by far the most popular program. Executive MBAs, which require a minimum of five years prior work experience and allow modular study periods while you carry on working, are growing in popularity. Part-time and distance learning MBAs are also options.
Step 4: Research and selection criteria
With so many schools to pick from, you need a rational selection approach. Decide what criteria matter to you and aim to identify five schools that match up and for which you believe you can meet the entry criteria. Many candidates pick a school because of a specialisation. For example, someone seeking to start their own business should look for a school with a strong entrepreneurship faculty, incubator facilities and access to venture capital.
Step 5: Meet schools face-to-face
It is important to meet school representatives and alumni to make sure there is a personal fit and to confirm your research findings. Ideally, visit the school campus. If this is not possible, the QS World MBA Tour is an alternative.
For thousands of young professionals, now is the time to get moving, get that necessary MBA education and advance your career in time for the rebounding economy. It is one sure way to show that career atrophy is an exaggeration. Mark Twain would have been proud.
QS World MBA Tour – www.topmba.com
The QS World MBA Tour has, since 1990, been the world’s leading careers and education expert, bringing together hundreds of business schools from around the world to 35 countries each year and was visited by 65,000 MBA candidates in 2009.
The Africa Leg of the MBA Tour - 2011 Calender
Thursday 24 March Ghana - Get free tickets here
Saturday 26 March Nigeria - Get free tickets here
Tuesday 29 March Johannesburg - Get free tickets here
Thursday 31 March Kenya - Get free tickets here
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